


The Day When I Met You

by lexark (dewdropsandroses)



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, ftwd au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-05-26 06:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6227776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dewdropsandroses/pseuds/lexark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Elyza Lex had after leaving her friends behind were her guns and her remorse. Until a mysterious boat carrying a beautiful girl and her family came into shore that is.</p>
<p>(a.k.a. a FTWD AU with the fandom created Elyza Lex as the subject)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on my own (without a beta or anything) so I'm sorry if there are any errors and please let me know if there are!
> 
> I will be updating the warnings, rating, and characters as I continue this story because at the moment I don't know how long it will be.

Elyza swiped the sweat and blood off of her brow as she looked out over the street from the rooftop with a sense of accomplishment. She had finally reached the top of the tallest building that she could find. It was the perfect vantage point to see what was going on. She had a 360 view of the city, the water, and the streets crowded by walking corpses below her. 

When it had begun Elyza had only just arrived in the country with her parents. She had been sitting in the hotel room eating crisps when she heard the gunshots. When she had peeked through the curtains, she saw a sight like none she had ever seen before. Gone were the picturesque views of the city and the cars driving along. Gone were the bustling crowds and barking dogs. Now there were dozens of police officers shooting at people who wouldn’t die. 

Her mother had returned a few minutes later and gave her news of her father’s death but there was no time to mourn. They left the hotel and managed to leave the city. All they had with them were their backpacks and knives for weapons. Elyza's bag was filled with a change of clothes, food supplies, her iPod, and a few extra knives. 

On the second day her mother had gotten taken by a crowd of the walking dead. It was only when she saw the bitemark on her shoulder that Elyza had stopped fighting and listened to her mothers warning to run. She hadn't looked back. As she ran away she could hear them groaning and shuffling along. She heard her mother collapse to the ground and begin to gasp for air. She heard her mother die. 

After that, Elyza had joined a large group of kids her age who called themselves ‘the delinquents’. One of them had given her a gun and she hasn't been out of arms reach of it since. She was with them for weeks, avoiding the military and robbing empty stores. Before long Elyza had walker blood on her hands, a full stomach and weapons strapped to her new clothes. 

Then things went bad. They had travelled to a new city, something that most were excited about but some, including Elyza, were apprehensive for. There weren't as many walkers in this new city, it seemed like everyone had either evacuated or been shot by the military before they could be turned. The large group revelled in the freedom of being in a new place. People became destructive, especially Bellami and Jon, and not only to the walkers. Soon enough the local kids came by.

The locals were anything but friendly. They were all members of old gangs that had banded together to ride out the apocalypse together. They did not take kindly to the delinquents. Some of the delinquents decided to fight back while others wanted to either leave or try to be peaceful. The group had begun to fracture with one half looking to Bellami for leadership and the other to Elyza. When Merie, Bellami's sister, started a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque affair with one of the locals Bellami had had enough. War between the two groups broke out. To try and stop the war Elyza had done terrible things. All of them had. 

Elyza decided to leave. She was covered in so much blood, metaphorically and literally, she felt like her hair was turned red.  
So now she was sitting on the top of the highest building around a city over and staring out at the world, her only company being her blood soaked supplies and her remorse. 

As she gazed out at the light dimming over the water she saw a boat appear on the horizon. 

*


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza goes out looking for supplies.

The following day Elyza went out to get more food. It had taken her weeks to find a new place to stay and she had run out of food. She walked down the tower when the sun began to rise and crept through the desolate streets in search of a decent looking store. 

She had scouted out the place the day before and knew that there was a large colony of walkers a few streets over in a wide open square where many stores still had working lights. That was the most likely place for where food would be, but also the most likely place that she would become food.

The air was crisp and the wind lightly blew against her face as she silently ran down alleyways and climbed over fences and walls. 

“Parkour” she whispered to herself as she scaled a chain link fence and landed squarely on the other side. She had landed only a footstep away from a rotting corpse. The foul smell filled her nose but she knew that she had to check that it wouldn’t come back. When one of the delinquents had been shot in the chest by a local in her last city, they had mourned him until he came back and began eating people. It was only after Caspar had shot him square in the head that he stayed down. So it was only after she spotted the small gap between two separate parts of the corpse’s neck that she moved away. Her boots were now covered in another layer of blood. 

Moving on through the streets she came across several more bodies before finding a salvageable store. The door was already broken through and she could smell the bodies before she even entered it. Stepping into the dimly lit store her foot squelched into something she worried were guts of some sort. She shook it off and stepped through with confidence.

The store comprised of three aisles with a row of already opened fridges at the back. The shelves were either full or already had their contents shoved off and covering bodies. It was a goldmine to Elyza, who just ignored the stench and began piling cans and packets of food into her rucksack until it hurt her shoulders to carry. 

Leaving the store brought a wave of fresh air. Well, fresh air that smelled like gasoline and rotting bodies. The weather was starting to get warmer and the sun at its peak, so Elyza decided to return to her tower. At least until it was past midday again. It may have just been paranoia but midday was never a good time of day for her to be out in the open. 

By the time she got back to her tower her legs and shoulders were burning. The guns and knives strapped to her body had never been more heavy. Her tired mind is what she would blame for not noticing the voices in the lobby until she stepped in. 

The first thing she saw was the back of a tall dude with a shaved head. He was standing tall so clearly wasn’t dead. Or undead.  
Elyza silently pulled out her knife in her left hand and her gun in her right, deciding stealth was her best approach. She leapt up and pressed the knife against his throat, holding out her gun with her weaker hand. 

“Who the hell –” Elyza stopped. In front of her were Merie, Raegyn, Caspar and Minty. 

*

“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” Elyza blurted out in shock after Abe, Merie's boyfriend, had gently disarmed her. The four of them grinned at her. 

“We had no idea you’d be here” Caspar said,

“Lies. We thought you might be here” Merie said, Abe once again at her side.

“Yeah and hey, safety in numbers, right?” Raegyn said and winked at Elyza who still stood there gobsmacked. Eventually she came back to life and welcomed them into her hideout. 

The climb up was excruciating for Elyza’s legs but luckily Abe had taken her backpack. The hundreds of steps seemed less daunting and isolated with the sounds of their collected footsteps. It was nice to be in a team again. 

They shared the story of how after Bellami had lost his mind and gone onto a murderous rampage after someone killed his girlfriend and her family. Merie had disowned him as a brother and they all left together. Caspar was still adamant that it wasn’t to find Elyza but it was clear that that was part of the motive. 

“But hey, we got a truck!” Raegyn exclaimed. She used to work at a car workshop and it turns out had found a beat up old truck and had gotten it working again. It’s what they took to find her.

“So we can leave whenever” Minty said. It was clear that they wanted to move on. 

“And go where?” Elyza asked and they all shrugged.

“Lets just drive around, get the hell out of here and just survive” Merie said. Elyza shrugged and looked out off the roof and towards the water. The boat was now docked and she was pretty sure the people on it were looking for supplies. 

“I don’t know. I’ve got a good feeling about this place” Elyza murmured, “And besides, life should be about more than just survival”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading !! Visit my tumblr : booksandotherfunstuff.tumblr.com. I welcome all advice and if you leave kudos or a comment I will love you forever.
> 
> Sidenote: Alicia will be in the next chapter
> 
> Edit: I changed Octavia's name in here from Ophelia to Merie (from Marie Avgeropoulos because I tragically forgot that Ophelia is an actual character in FTWD)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've changed "Ravin" to Raegyn. This is the last name change I promise!!

The first thing Alicia smelt when she got off the boat was death. It permeated the usual city smells of gasoline, metal and sewage. Wrinkling her nose, she put in her earbuds and began playing her favourite playlist of music to drown out the sounds of emptiness. She used to listen to music to get lost in it and to made mundane activities more exciting. Now, she listened to try and put life back into the world. It didn’t work that well. 

She followed behind the rest of her family as they went looking for survivors or supplies. Alicia thought it was pointless, but she wasn’t looking forward to running out of food, so she went along with it. It was only her, Nick and her mother that were on this little trip to find supplies. All the others wanted to stay on the boat. Where they could mourn (and sulk) in safety. 

Just as Alicia was getting into the rhythm of her music and the loping of her footsteps, one of her earbuds was rudely ripped out of her ear. 

“Hey!”

“Alicia, I was trying to talk to you” her mother said with a sigh in her voice. Nick handed her earbud back to her. Resigned to another ‘family talk’ she pulled out the other earbud and stuffed her hands into her shorts pockets. 

“As I was saying –”

“Wait, what’s that?” Nick suddenly said, throwing his arms out in front of his mother and sister. 

“Nick” their mother snapped. A few moments later the sound reached Alicia’s ears. It was the moaning and groaning of _them_. 

“Here” Nick said, thumping one of the baseball bats he was carrying into Alicia’s stomach. There was no time for the sarcastic retort on the tip of her tongue as one of them jumped Nick the next second. Alicia hardly had time to freak out over the peeling skin, blood soaked hair, or the pale eyes that seemed to stare and not see anything before Maddison had pushed it off of Nick with her own weapon. 

Alicia felt panic rip through her as more and more came. It was dreadfully obvious that they were way outnumbered. 

“Run!” Maddison shouted and Alicia needed no other encouragement. She started running, her feet pounding on the road beneath her, splashing in puddles of something every few steps. Her breath came out in huffs, burning her throat as she made turn after turn. 

She was doing well. She would make it out alive. She would. 

But then she began slowing down. The baseball bat slipped out of her sweaty hands. Her legs were burning as much as her lungs and one rock in the wrong place had her tumbling to the ground. Before she could crawl away one of them launched on top of her, its pale eyes leering, its mouth snapping. 

She held it just inches away from her face with her wobbly arms. She took a moment to look at it and saw that it had been a guy with dark skin and strong bones. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes and her heart plummeted. The stench was making her head fuzzy but the resemblance to Matt couldn’t have been in her imagination. 

_He isn’t like this, he isn’t._

Just then, a moment before her arms gave out she heard a gunshot and its face was splattered all over her. She screamed and scuttled away until she hit a wall. Now the smell was on her face, her shirt. When she looked more closely she saw that what she had tripped over was actually a corpse so it was all over her lower legs as well. 

The grossness of it didn’t detract from the hordes of zombies still entering the alleyway. All of them were shuffling towards her. Pressing up against the wall, she waited for them to come for her. 

They never did. One came right up to her hiding place but moved on. 

“Hey! Girl who almost had her skin ripped off! Up here!” a voice hissed down at her and, looking up, Alicia saw a face looking down at her from on top of the grate of a fire escape. The face had black makeup covering her dark eyes and cheeks, and dark hair tumbled down her shoulders. 

She was reaching out a hand and Alicia didn’t hesitate to grab it and pull herself up. It took a lot of scrabbling at the wall with her converse and grappling the strangers arm but eventually she managed to pull herself up onto the grate. 

“Thank you” Alicia said breathlessly once she was up. She stared down at the walking dead who almost had her down below. 

“You smell terrible” was the girl’s response. Alicia looked at her incredulously, getting ready to reply when she stood up. She strapped a gun to her waist and began climbing up the ladder to the next level.

“Well, Princess, you coming or not?”

“My name’s Alicia” she grumbled as she followed her up the ladder.

“And mine’s Raegyn but that won’t matter if we’re dead so follow me!” 

“Where? I need to get back to my family” 

“I’m taking you to safety which is all you need to know for now. After you get cleaned up you can go back to your folks” Raegyn said from above her. Alicia sighed and continued on climbing. The building wasn’t that high and it wasn’t long until she was at the top.

“I’m going there” Raegyn pointed at a building towering over all the others. It looked just like one giant cylinder with a pointed top. Most of the windows had been broken in the lower levels so it made it look like the apocalypse had begun much earlier than it actually had. 

“I have to return to my family” Alicia insisted.

“Yeah, yeah sure. I’m going there eventually; first we need to meet up with someone”

“Who?”

“Someone who’ll know what to do with you”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza has been waiting for Raegyn to arrive at their rendezvous point.

Elyza paced around her and Raegyns rendezvous point impatiently. It was fifteen minutes since meet up time and she was starting to get nervous. At least she had a decent view of the streets from the rooftop she was on. Just then she heard the irregular pattern of Raegyn’s running steps before she appeared jumping down from a higher roof. 

“Son of a bitch!” She exclaimed and doubled over onto her leg.

“You alright?”

“Ladders and jumping. Not a good combination for my prosthetic” Raegyn complained as she sat down on the ground. Elyza opened her mouth to say something when another body jumped off from the same rooftop. 

She didn’t have enough distance covered when she began to fall back down. Elyza raced over as her hands slapped against the ledge as she continued her fall. Elyza just managed to catch her wrists and pull her back up onto the rooftop. 

“Thanks” the girl muttered. Her hair covered her face as she knelt on the ground catching her breath. Elyza knew that Raegyn moved very quickly despite her fake leg. It gave time for her to admire the girl’s long legs in the shorts that she was wearing.

“Good, you made it, Princess” Raegyn said from where she was massaging her leg. Elyza turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She just shrugged.

“My name’s Alicia” the strange girl grumbled as she stood up. Elyza’s knees went a bit weak as she took in this girl’s face. Even covered in walker blood she could still see how beautiful she was.

“And I’m Elyza” 

Alicia startled and turned to look at her. Elyza felt her stomach plummet as she met her eyes, it felt like those were the eyes that she should’ve been looking at her entire life. It felt like this girl wasn’t an unknown but rather someone Elyza should know but couldn’t place. 

Alicia’s cheeks darkened beneath the blood, reminding Elyza of the fact that there was blood all over her. Clearing her throat, she reached into her back and pulled out a cloth. 

“I found her in an alley about to get mauled” Raegyn suddenly said, breaking Elyza’s trance. She handed Alicia a cloth and quickly turned to face her.

“Was the gunshot you then?”

“Yep. There were already so many there I figured it would be alright”

“Will someone find my family too?” Alicia asked in a small voice. Elyza kept her eye contact with Raegyn, who’s eyes had widened with panic. They were both thinking the same thing, it was unlikely Alicia would ever see her family again. Elyza cleared her throat and turned back to the girl.

“Were you on the boat, then?” she asked her.

“Yes.” Alicia said. Her face was now clean and Elyza had been right, she was gorgeous. 

“We can take you back there tomorrow. Your family will likely be there”

“Why not today?”

“It’s not safe to be out too late. We don’t have torches and all of our other electronics died ages ago” 

“I have my phone. I’ve got a solar charger for it” Alicia suggested. Elyza shook her head. 

“That won’t be enough. Trust me, it’s not safe out anymore. You can stay the night with us in Polis, and then we can take you back”

“We need to look for my family!” Alicia plead. Elyza felt for her, she really did, but she couldn’t get herself or anyone else killed for the sake of a pretty girl. 

“One of the others could've found them” Raegyn offered the distraught looking girl. The way she had curled into herself made Elyza’s heart ache. She moved closer to her and laid a hand on her arm.

“Come on” she said softly with her most gentle smile. “We’ll keep you safe, and I promise your people will be too” 

“Can you protect them as well?” Alicia asked in a small voice. She was leaning more towards Elyza with an open look in her eyes that did weird things to Elyza’s chest.

“I’ll do my best. Your people are my people, you know?” Elyza smiled more broadly at Alicia’s furrowed brow, “They aren’t walkers so of course we’ll protect them”

Alicia smiled at that and there was a moment. One of silence where they just held each others gaze and smiled softly at one another. A connection was building between them and even Raegyn could see that it was as though they were meant to have met that day on that roof. This seemed like an old connection that was just being rekindled. 

“Let’s get going then” Alicia whispered. Elyza nodded and moments later they were on the move towards the tall building towering above all the rest.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave comments or kudos and you can check out my tumblr if you want : booksandotherfunstuff


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia and Elyza look at the stars.

Elyza now looked out at the city from a very different perspective. Another group of delinquents had arrived in the other truck that Raegyn had fixed and so now their small group had doubled. The calming orange colours of the sunset washed over them all circled around a bonfire. They were laughing, eating, sharing stories and it was all so nostalgic for Elyza. It reminded her of times back home at barbeques with family and friends. 

Off to the side of their group was one exception. The beautiful brunette, Alicia, was leaning against the makeshift railing looking out towards the water. Her group was waving her over to join them but her heart was tugging at her to go and join Alicia. 

She walked over to Alicia and pushed against the railing with two hands until it rattled and made Alicia squeal.

“Don’t worry, Raegyn built this thing so it’ll hold” Elyza said in a soft voice, a smile pulling up one side of her mouth. Alicia turned, meeting Elyza’s eyes and holding them.

“How are you so sure?”

“She was top of her engineering class at MIT” 

“Really?” Alicia asked raising her eyebrows.

“Well… yeah until she got kicked out” 

Alicia’s eyes widened as she jumped away from the railing. Elyza chuckled and stepped down, taking Alicia’s outstretched arms into her hands. She noticed a black line drawing of a heart on her forearm that looked crudely tattooed.

“She got kicked out for building an illegal robot with her ex-boyfriend. The robot kind of terrorised the building by destroying other people’s projects. So you see she’s very smart”

“Was the robot meant to be so destructive?” Alicia asked dubiously 

“Yeah, well, kind of, not at all. It was meant to clean things” Elyza said, making Alicia laugh. “She fixed it after she left and it was a very good overrated vacuum cleaner” 

Alicia shook her head, still grinning, and Elyza realised how close they were standing when she felt her breath on her arm. She cleared her throat and stepped away, keeping a gentle hold on her arms.

“C’mere” Elyza said, tugging Alicia back over to the railing. It took her promising it was safe and even putting her full weight on it (while Alicia clenched her arm) to convince her but eventually she leaned on it again.

Alicia’s hair was wafting slightly in the breeze and the last light of the sun glinted off of her eyes as it drifted below the horizon. There was a deep sadness in her eyes but it wasn’t as apparent as it had been before Elyza had come over. Now her eyes were shining with amusement. Elyza told herself to stop being so romantic over this girl during the walker invasion, but she still noticed how her hair gleamed golden when lit by the bonfire. 

“You can see so many stars now” Alicia whispered when it was finally dark and the stars were twinkling in the inky sky. Elyza didn’t look up, she had admired the stars every night that she had been alone and thinking about all she had lost. Now she had gained something so didn’t need the stars anymore. She was perfectly happy down on earth with Alicia. 

“Yeah. It’s beautiful” Elyza whispered. 

“Different constellation than you’re used to. I can show them to you if you’d like” Alicia offered, turning to meet Elyza’s gaze. 

“Oh yeah, right, sure” Elyza replied, not breaking their eye contact. It was intense and rife with meaning that neither of them could decipher. 

“Well” Alicia said even quieter as she shifted so that her arm was almost touching Elyza’s. She only looked away to point up at some stars. Elyza breathed in her scent as she followed where she was pointing. “To start off with that’s the North Star”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading !!
> 
> I've been thinking about doing an uploading schedule for this but I'm not sure yet because I like doing it low pressure right now. If you guys want anything (or have any advice) then please leave a comment !!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza takes Alicia back to the boat.

“Huh, so that’s why you called it ‘Polis’” Alicia commented at the base of the building the next morning. She was pointing to a partially singed sign that read ‘pol_ _ is’ that was at the front door of the building. There was still a bit of smoke coming off of the roof of the building, making it look a bit like a giant candle. 

Elyza nodded and continued walking. Elyza was taking Alicia back to the boat this morning while everyone else was either watching camp or out looking for Alicia’s family. Everyone had agreed that if they were found that they would take them to the boat or to Polis. 

The sun was bright this morning, so much so that Elyza had worn a pair of sunglasses and had placed an old baseball cap on top of Alicia’s head. Alicia was humming as she walked down the street which Elyza found too cute to tell her to stop. 

Elyza vaguely knew the direction they were going and so kept making turns to avoid walkers and to stay in the right direction. Sometime along the way Alicia had removed one of her earbuds and it had found its way into Elyza’s ear so that they were walking close together and awkwardly bumping against each other along the way. 

“Why do you have the intense eyeliner?” Alicia asked her after a while,

“It’s war paint” Elyza said. It was a tradition they had started when the delinquents had found some face paint while raiding some stores. 

“War paint” Alicia echoed

“We’re fighting a war against the walkers. It’s a battle that I intend to win. So, yeah, war paint”

“Huh. That’s another thing, you call them _walkers_ ”

“Yeah, it seems more real than zombies” Elyza said. Thinking about the reality of the situation was beyond what either of them wanted to do. So they just listened to the music and continued their too-close-together walking.

The song that was playing in their ears was reaching its climax when Elyza felt that they were reaching a dangerous area. She took out her and Alicia’s earbuds and pulled her against the wall in one smooth motion. 

“Walkers” she whispered against Alicia’s lips before spinning around to see three of them entering the street they were on from a side street not five metres away. Elyza carefully pulled out her knife and silently padded over to them in a crouch. When she was close enough for them to sense her she let out a battle cry and plunged the knife into the closest one’s neck. She levered the knife to slice its throat and ignored the blood rushing down her arm to turn to the next one. 

The next one was too close to stab. Instead she threw the knife further to hopefully, land in the last one’s neck while kicking at the closer one’s knees. The closer one crumpled to the ground and it only took a single stomp to crush its skull. 

The third one was newer than the other two so it was more resilient. It came rushing at her, knife still sticking out of its neck, jaws snapping. She punched it to buy her some time so that she could get out her sharper, longer blade. She punched it once, twice, three times until it stumbled back. Once she had her new blade in hand. She swung it and sliced the walkers head clean off. Now headless, the walker’s body landed at her feet with a thud.

Turning back to Alicia, Elyza saw that her eyes were widened in a mixture of shock and fear. Her phone was still clenched in her hand, earbuds sitting on her shoe. 

“Gun was too noisy” Elyza explained as she wiped the knives off before replacing them in their sheaths. Alicia let out nervous laughter before nodding and coming over to join Elyza. 

“Well, I’ll give you one thing about the war paint, it makes you a lot more badass”

“Oh no, that’s just me” Elyza said and winked at Alicia.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia and Elyza arrive at the boat.

It was a bittersweet feeling, Alicia thought, when she could finally see the boat at the end of the street. Alicia stared out at the boat that would return her to her own life. Before the foul smells of this city. Before rooftops and stars. Before a beautiful blonde with war paint. 

“You ready?” Elyza asked, suddenly besides her once more from cleaning her weapons. Even though Alicia could smell her and feel her warmth she felt a million miles away already. 

“Yeah” Alicia whispered and began walking towards the boat and away from Elyza. Just before she stuffed her hand into her pocket, Elyza took it with her own warm hand. They both gripped each others hand too hard as they memorised the sound, the feel, and the smell of each other. 

“Alicia” Elyza said softly, breaking the silence. Alicia turned to meet her gaze and Elyza took a step forward so that they were breathing the same air. The walker blood did nothing to dull Elyza’s scent of nature and dirt. From the very first moment she had gripped Elyza’s hand, breathed in her smell, she felt safe and as though she was on the world’s greatest adventure.

“Elyza. Elyza, Elyza, Elyza” Alicia murmured, committing the taste of her name on her lips, the blue of her eyes gazing into hers. Without thinking, Alicia reached up and brushed a hand through Elyza’s soft hair, learning how it tangled and flowed through her fingers.

Elyza leaned closer to Alicia so that their noses touched and so that Alicia could make out all the small crinkles in the paint and the spots on her skin. 

Alicia had always gotten the sense of adventure and recklessness, but also of safety and comfort from Elyza. It’s what she believed drew her in, what made her trust her and never want to leave. That feeling only multiplied as their lips brushed together, barely touching, only enough so that she could tell that her lips were soft but slightly chapped. 

It was then, when they were completely lost in each other, that there was the crack of a gun and the splatter of blood.

Alicia screamed and would have dropped to the ground if Elyza hadn’t grabbed her arm and ran her over to the side of a building. Elyza waved up to the roof a building where Alicia could vaguely see the shape of a girl with black hair. 

A walker started walking towards them but was stopped in its tracks by the bullet Elyza shot into its neck. Alicia was shaking and cowering behind her. She could see the walker that the girl had shot for only a second before others grouped around it.

“Alicia! Take a weapon and run!” Elyza shouted just before letting off another shot. “I mean it – run to the boat!”  
Alicia clenched her fists and counted back from ten. There were so many walkers. They were swarming like bees. Too many for Elyza to take. 

“I’m not leaving you!” Alicia cried out as she took out one of Elyza’s blades from a sheath on her back. 

“Merie, Abe and I will cover you. You just have to go” Elyza turned her head and met Alicia’s eyes. Her eyes were hard, determined. “I will keep you safe” she whispered. 

Alicia gulped and nodded. 

“Go!” Elyza yelled and stepped to the side. For a second Alicia saw the dozens of walkers in the street and the many more on their way. There were too many for Elyza and the two others. Her stomach lurched with fear for them. 

Just then Elyza bumped into her as she turned to shoot, throwing her off balance and into the fray. Away from Elyza.

“Elyza!” Alicia screamed as she swung the blade. Three gunshots went off in quick succession and the walkers around her fell.  
“Run!” Elyza shouted as she kept shooting at the walkers around Alicia. 

So Alicia ran. She ran through the path in the walkers that Elyza carved out for her from behind. Alicia tried to ignore her fear for the others as her feet thudded down the pavement. She tried to ignore the gunshots around her and just focus on her goal. Soon enough was on the dock swaying beneath her feet. 

She turned back but all she could see were the walkers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving kudos!! 
> 
> Just as a quick side note please vote for Clarke/Lexa in the zimbio poll : http://www.zimbio.com/brackets/TV+Couples+March+Madness+2016  
> (there's only an hour left!!)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza fights off the walkers.

Elyza’s heart was racing as she shot at the walkers trying to reach Alicia as she ran down the street. She could hear other gunshots from above and could only assume Merie and Abe were covering her. Normally she was cool-headed in a crisis but seeing Alicia in her shorts with her hair loose... she looked so vulnerable and it terrified Elyza.

Elyza only got to see a glimpse of her landing on the dock before her view was covered with walkers. Now. Now it was time for her escape. 

She couldn’t go up. At least, not where she was. 

A walker grabbed at her from behind and she elbowed it in the face. She reached for her blade and only found air. She bashed its head in with her gun instead. She spun to shoot at another. Click. Out of bullets. 

Nothing was going right. She had to calm down. 

There were too many. Multiple snapping jaws reaching for her. Abe and Merie couldn’t get them all, especially not when they were this close. 

She took in a deep breath. She wasn’t going to die today. Not like this. 

She pulled out her knife and began slashing. She bashed in brains with her gun in her left hand and slashed at throats with her knife in her right hand. Soon she had multiple bodies at her feet with more coming. 

She stepped up on top of the bodies and used it as leverage to kick out and hold them back as she reloaded her gun. She pulled her backup pistol out of her boot.

Now it was time to shoot. 

There wasn’t any real aiming she could do. All she could do was pull the trigger again and again. The smell of death intensified around her as more and more walkers fell around her.

“Elyza! The stores!” Merie’s voice rang above the sounds of the groaning dead. Elyza spared a moment to turn and saw what Merie had. 

There was a line of storefronts, all of them destroyed, but there was a secure looking door in the alley one street over. 

Now she had a target.

Walking forward, she shot at all the walkers she could. Until her pistol ran out of bullets. She stowed it in her boot and pulled out her knife in quick succession. Returning to her slashing and bashing technique slowed her down but she could still move forward. It was better than being eaten in any case. 

Just as she was rounding the corner to the alley her knife got stuck in the base of the skull of a fresher walker. It snarled at her and clawed at her face. She punched it back and ran. 

It only took three steps to reach the door. 

It only took five seconds to wrench it open. 

Two to slide in. One for a walker to grab her. 

She slammed the door on its face. On the third slam it crunched. She kicked it out of the way and pulled the door shut. The walkers tried to push it open by smacking into it. She leaned against the door but could tell it wouldn’t be enough to hold it closed. 

She pawed at the walls either side of the door to try and find anything that might hold the door. It was pitch black in wherever she was and the only sound was her heavy breathing until - 

“Here” a male voice said, “I have a table which should hold the door”

Elyza reached out in front of her and felt a solid object. She only thought about survival as she moved out of the way and heard the scrape and thud of the table hitting the door.

“Will it hold?” Elyza asked the darkness which was slowly revealing the small room.

“I think so” the male voice replied. He sounded out of breath and young. Elyza slowly checked that the safety was off on her gun, estimating that she had three bullets left. Her eyes were slowly adjusting so that she could make out the shape of the boy in front of her. Either he had been in the city all along or he had come on the same boat as Alicia. Elyza didn’t know which option was safer.

“Is there a light anywhere?” Elyza asked

“Not here, no. Upstairs there’s light”

“Upstairs” Elyza echoed. 

“Yeah follow me – you can see me now right?” the boy asked and waved his hand. Elyza rolled her eyes and clicked on the safety. 

“Yes, I can see you” 

“Great. Follow me” he said. He turned and walked off. Elyza noted that the walkers had quietened down. She felt fear for her friends and Alicia but knew there was nothing she could do now. Turning to follow the boy, she figured she could somehow get to the roof of the building and then join the others. 

They went up a set of stairs even narrower than those in the Polis building. As she climbed it gradually grew brighter so that she could make out the slender physique and dark hair of the boy in front of her. After twenty or so steps they came out into what looked like an apartment with a window looking out over the street. It had been stripped bare so that all that was left were a few couches, a table and brown wallpaper. She could see a hallway leading to other rooms and an open door leading to an empty cupboard. A dirty rucksack sat on one of the couches that she assumed belonged to the boy. 

“My name’s Chris” he said as he turned towards her. 

“Elyza” she said. She wanted to ask questions and she wanted to explore the house. She wanted to see if everyone was safe.

Chris nodded when he saw she wasn’t saying anything and moved to sit down on the couch. Elyza walked over and looked out the dusty window. She could see that the crowd of walkers had dissipated so that only a few were wandering around now. Looking up, she saw Abe on the roof of the building across the street. 

She reached over and undid the latch to open the window. 

“What are you doing?” Chris asked as she leaned out. She let out a whistle that made the zombie groan a little louder and waved at Abe. Abe waved back, Merie popped up a moment later and waved too. Looking out over the dock she saw no sign of Alicia. That must mean that she was on the boat. She let out a sigh of relief.   
Now she would get answers.

“So. Where are you from?” Elyza asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that that wasn't the best ending (oops) but I wanted to leave it so that I can reveal things in the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris tells Elyza what happened on the boat.

“LA. I came in on the boat – did you see it?” Chris replied to Elyza. Elyza felt a jolt go through her. He must know Alicia. She acted as though his words meant nothing as she nonchalantly moved over and sat on the couch beside his. 

“Yeah I’ve seen it” she said with a slightly too jerky shrug. “What happened? Why are you here instead of on the boat?” 

“There was a guy on the boat called Strand” Chris began. He paused to shift forward in the seat and wring his hands together. Sensing that it was going to be a long story she rested back on the couch and put her feet up on the table. 

“He owned the boat and was a really secretive and sketchy character. He had some sort of a ‘plan’ for us all but wouldn’t tell us. He wouldn’t let us stop anywhere to look for survivors or supplies. My mother-” Chris stopped abruptly with a choked sound. 

“My mum’s dead” Elyza said bluntly in an attempt to make him open up. “She got bitten one day and sacrificed herself so that I could get away the next”

Elyza swallowed, the emotions washing over her, reminding her that she had never mourned. Chris looked up and Elyza could see the pain that she had never let herself feel reflected in his eyes.

“My mother was bitten too” he said quietly. “She was shot before we got on the boat to protect us”

Elyza nodded solemnly. She didn’t offer condolences on the knowledge that they never helped, that they only made things worse. Chris nodded his unspoken thanks at her a few moments later and then continued.

“For days I didn’t leave my cabin so I wasn’t there to witness everything that happened. It was only after we docked that I actually listened to what my dad was telling me had happened. 

“He told me about Strand’s shifty behaviour and how he was hiding food from us. He was steering the boat and wouldn’t let anyone else take over. Nick apparently hit him over the head with a pipe to take control, only he couldn’t drive the boat, so my dad took over and docked it here. This other guy with us – Daniel – wanted to … do things to Strand. Get information out of him but his daughter begged him not to. He tortured this soldier she was having an affair with, you see. She was only with him to get medicine for her mother but that’s besides the point.

“Then Alicia, Maddie and Nick left the boat. Maddie said it was for supplies but I could tell they wanted to discuss what to do next. Even I could tell that Maddie wanted to separate herself from Strand and the boat. My dad is dating Maddie but I refused to leave so he stayed with me. I regret that decision so much now”

Chris gulped and wrung his hands in guilt. Elyza shifted closer in commiseration. 

“When they didn’t return after three hours everyone panicked” Chris continued “Daniel roughed up Strand until my dad and Ofelia stopped him. That’s when I left my room. 

“The boat is very luxurious. There are leather couches and these great big windows. Strand was tied to a metal dining chair in the middle of the living room with Daniel standing over him with bloodied fists. Ofelia had tears in her eyes but I could tell she was furious. My dad was standing in the middle of the chaos, trying to calm everyone down. Daniel wiped his hands on the couches and spat at Strand one more time before walking out. The boat didn’t seem so luxurious anymore.

“My dad told me that he and Daniel were going to leave to look for Maddie, Alicia and Nick. He told me to stay and make sure nothing went wrong. Ofelia stayed to clean Strand up and make sure he wasn’t hurt too badly. Once he was clean and glaring at us once more, she too decided to leave. She said that her father had told her to stay but she needed to go. She wanted to find the others and make sure that her father didn’t do anything terrible. 

“So I was left alone with Strand. A part of me desperately wanted to leave the boat and find the others, to help them. I didn’t want to stay on the boat with him strapped to a chair and pain in my chest. But I did. I knew that someone had to make sure nothing went wrong. 

“Then everything went wrong. In the middle of the night I fell asleep. I tried not to, to keep watch, but I was exhausted. Strand managed to escape, I don’t know how, but he did. I panicked and went looking for him. I couldn’t find him, or anyone else . I kept looking until I ran into a group of those zombies in the alley just outside. They were feasting on something. I ran to the door but they heard me and pursued me. I saw Strands body lying on the ground, his stupid fancy suit covered in blood. I was so distracted that some of them jumped me. They grabbed me. I didn’t even know it had happened until I finally got through the door and up those stairs to safety.

“You should shoot me. I don’t want to come back. I want to be with my mother”  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was so dialogue heavy!! It was the easiest way for me to develop the story of what happened without messing up everything that comes after. 
> 
> I've been working on the next two chapters pretty intensely today seeing how they're kind of technical (in a way). I should be done with them tonight though.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia enters the empty boat.

Alicia stepped onto the boat from the dock, balancing off of the handrail at the side. She clenched Elyza's blade tightly in her hand. It was far too silent for comfort. 

She crept through an unnervingly open door to the hallway to yet more silence.

“Hello?” she called out as she made her way to the living room. Once she got there she had to stifle her scream for there was blood everywhere. It covered the white leather couches in hand printed streaks, it covered the ground in droplets and puddles, it covered the empty chair where Strand used to be tied up. 

This was bad. Very, very bad. 

She stepped around the perimeter of the living room to make it to the kitchen. Almost all of the cupboards were swinging open, contents empty. 

She checked to make sure that the door was closed behind her and went to take a drink of water. She couldn’t think through her headache and dry throat. She set Elyza’s blade down at the side of the sink, turned on the faucet, and cupped water into her mouth. 

Just as she was turning the faucet off she heard a growl behind her.

She reached out her hand, trying to keep it as slow and steady as possible to emulate Elyza, to try and find the blade. Just as her fingers brushed the handle the walker attacked her and it clattered to the ground.

Alicia screamed as she fell to the floor. She kicked it off of her and tried to reach the blade. She finally grabbed it and swung it wildly.

It didn’t hit the walker but it did scrape her knee.

The smell of her blood seemed to reenergise it as it came at her with more fury than before. Alicia jumped to her feet and slashed the blade towards the walker’s neck. It sliced cleanly through half of it so that its head flopped backwards, attached only by a thin piece of skin and muscle. Blood spilled everywhere as the walker landed on the floor with a thud.

Alicia stepped back and ran for the sink as she gagged on the smell. As she rinsed off the blade, watching the mixture of her bright red blood and the darker red of the walkers swirl down the sink, she let out shaky breaths. She untied her shirt from around her waist with shaky hands and used it to clean her knee and then the blade. She had no disinfectant so it would have to do. 

Once everything was clean she raced out of the kitchen and off the boat.

Her thoughts were spinning, Strand and everyone else was gone, and a walker she didn't recognise had infiltrated the boat. She hadn’t checked the rest of the boat but no one had seemed to hear her screams. Even if they were walkers they would have come. Imagery of Chris, Travis and Ofelia as walkers came unbidden to her mind. Following were images of her family and of Elyza. Struck by her fear she collapsed to her knees down at the side of the dock, ignoring the sting in her knee, and felt her emotions rage a storm inside of her. 

Alicia never cries. She just never does. She only cried twice for Matt. She only cried a handful of times for her father. She didn’t cry then but she could feel the tears rise to the surface.

She swallowed them down and stood up. She stared back at the boat bobbing on the water, the sight once filling her with a strange sort of hope, but now only with dread. Alicia turned away from it and walked back towards the streets. The crowd of walkers were nowhere to be seen, only a few easily avoidable ones roaming around. 

Once she made it to the road she looked around. She couldn’t see Elyza or the people who helped her. It made sense that they had left even though the thought of Elyza leaving burned a hole in her heart. She spotted a ladder leading up to the roof on the side of one of the buildings and walked towards it.

Another walker came at her. She tried to circumvent it but it kept coming. She considered running but then it snapped its teeth and she saw it was pointless. She hefted the blade in her hand. 

She took a step towards it and swung the blade. It sliced through it's neck cleanly so that the head rolled on the ground. Remembering Elyza's movements, she wiped the blade clean on her already ruined shirt.

Alicia then finally climbed up the ladder. Her knee burned with the continual bending and stretching which made the journey seem all the longer. Once she finally reached the top of the building. She could see no one. She saw Polis rising up towards the cloudy sky and felt a deep yearning for the building and for Elyza.

“Alicia!” a voice called out from a neighbouring building and she turned with hope that it was Elyza. It wasn’t, it was the girl who had saved them from the walker when they had almost - 

The girl had dark wavy half tied back hair and the same war paint as Elyza coating her skin. A guy stood next to her who had dark skin without the war paint and a bald head. She vaguely remembered them both from Polis.

“Can you make it over here?” the girl asked her. 

“I’ll try” Alicia shouted back and walked towards the edge of the building. The gap was too wide to jump and there was a walker in the alley between them. Luckily there was a fire escape up the other building. Alicia gulped with nerves at what she needed to do. 

“I have to go down” she said to them. The girl nodded. 

“Here” the guy said as he dropped a massive rock down to hit the walker at the bottom square on the head. The sound was only a dull thump as they both fell to the ground. Alicia nodded her thanks and made her way down the ladder, ran across the alley, and climbed up the next one.

She was breathing heavily by the time she made it up to them. 

“I’m Merie and this is Abe” the girl said and stuck out her hand

“Alicia” she breathed and shook it.

“What happened?” Merie asked her. Once she caught her breath she told them everything that had happened on the boat.

“You should keep Elyza’s blade then. It’s served you well” Abe said, making Merie smile cryptically. 

“Speaking of Elyza” Alicia said and felt affronted when Merie’s smile rose to a grin.

“Yees?” she said and winked at Alicia. Alicia felt her cheeks reddening and she inwardly groaned. There was no shame in what she had done. No shame at all. Especially not in being bisexual. 

“She’s ok” Abe said, rescuing Alicia from further embarrassment. 

“Yeah, she’s alright Princess” Merie said with a grin at Alicia’s glare. So Raegyn had told her about that. “She went into that building over there. We were just about to go find her when we saw you coming out of the boat”

As Alicia followed Merie’s pointing to a run down looking building a water droplet fell onto her finger.

Seconds later rain was beating down on their heads and Alicia watched in bemusement as they yelped and rushed to hide their guns from the rain. Alicia laughed and spun around in the water, her arms out at her side. She loved rain and hardly ever got to experience it. 

As she closed her eyes and started humming, the rain refreshing her skin, Merie and Abe stared at her like she was crazy. 

“Right well we should get going” Abe said. Alicia stopped to look at them although she was still swaying and grinning. 

“Oh shit, Elyza’s blade!” Merie exclaimed and snatched it out of Alicia’s hand. She pulled out a cloth and carefully wrapped up all of the metal before handing it back. “Elyza loves this, it’s her favourite thing. I’m surprised she let you take it”

Alicia felt her cheeks redden again so she just kept the now-swaddled blade and cradled it within her arms. She felt just a little bit safer with it around. 

“Come on, Princess” Abe called from the top of the fire escape. Merie was nowhere to be seen, she moved so quickly and silently she was probably at the bottom of the building by now. 

“It’s Alicia” she grumbled and made her way over to him. He raised his eyebrows and then tilted his head in apology. 

Her hair was sticking to her face and her shirt to her back as she made her way down the slippery steps. Abe stayed behind her to make sure she didn’t fall, something that at first she had been indignant about but was now grateful. 

She did slip a few times but eventually they reached the bottom of the building unscathed. Alicia stared out at the street and could just make out the building on the other side. The building where Elyza was. Hope and determination built up in her chest as she gripped Elyza’s blade tightly. Now she understood why they wore war paint. 

“I’ll find you” Alicia whispered. She wasn’t sure exactly who she was addressing anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza checks to see if Chris was bitten.

Elyza stared at Chris. 

He sighed and stood up, turning around to take off his jacket. His shirt was ripped and covered in blood. It looked like a bite at first glance. 

“Can I?” she asked as she knelt behind him. He nodded. 

Elyza slowly lifted up his shirt, wincing as he hissed in pain, to reveal his back. There were many long deep gashes in his skin but none looked like a bite mark.

“Chris, you’re not bitten” she said and stepped back. 

“What?” he whispered

“You’re ok, they only scratched you, albeit really nastily but-”

“You should shoot me anyway” he said and spun around to face her. He had a wide glint in his eye “I’m a liability. I have no experience fighting or with self-defence, you should shoot me”

“No.” Elyza said and slowly moved her hand to cover her gun in case he reached for it. She recognised this. The madness. There was once a guy named Quinn at her camp who had lost his mind and tried to kill everyone and himself. He managed to take out five innocent people before killing himself. He had the same look in his eye. The same feverish movements. 

“You have to!” Chris yelled and lunged for her. She enveloped him in a tight bear hug, capturing his arms as well to stop him from taking a weapon. He struggled against her but she was stronger than he was and managed to keep her hold. They sunk to the floor with Chris wrapped up in Elyza’s arms as she quietly shushed him.

“I want to be with my mom” he sobbed and clung to her. She took out her gun and pushed it away from them so that he couldn’t suddenly reach for it.

“I felt lost too, when my parents died” she whispered to him. His sobs slowly stopped as she continued on “I never found out exactly how my dad died but I did watch my mum get swallowed by a pack of walkers. After that I didn’t know what to do and, yes, I did think about giving up and joining them. 

“But I didn’t. I kept going. I moved cities. I joined a group of people – of strangers – to try and survive. Because I had to. Even if I didn’t always want to. I had to because it’s why my mum died. Both my parents died so that I could survive. That’s why I had to keep going and it’s why you do too. Your mum sacrificed herself, like mine did, to keep you safe”

For a time, the two of them sat there side by side, sharing their pain, and seeing the rain start to pour outside the window. For a time, there was nothing but them, their pain, and the soft sounds of the rain pitter-pattering against the window. 

Time passed and the rain stopped. Their pain didn’t but they did move apart. Elyza picked up her gun and Chris rummaged through his pack until he found some food. He handed one small tin to Elyza and kept the other for himself. Elyza was grateful because she hadn’t brought any other food other than what Alicia and her needed for the journey. Thinking of Alicia brought a twinge of nervousness and fear for her. 

The sun was setting out of the window. Elyza’s stomach ached from hunger.

“Alicia” she whispered to herself, remembering how the brunette had repeated Elyza’s name to her lips. Saying her name felt weird now, without her there to hear it, as though she was reaching out into nothingness.

She stared out the window and saw puddles on the road but no people. Not even walkers. From this vantage point she couldn’t see the boat. 

Her stomach growled and the tin felt heavy in her hand. She made a decision and slid it into her backpack alongside her cleaning cloth before swinging it onto her back to rest on top of her empty sheath. Alicia had her blade, hopefully, so she had some form of protection. Elyza turned to see Chris eating out of his tin on the couch. 

“I’m leaving to make sure my people are safe” she told him and moved towards the stairs.

“What about the food?”

“I’ve eaten it” she lied 

“I’m coming with you” he said and set his mostly empty tin on the table. He went to put on his jacket quickly but his arm got caught and he stumbled. Moments later he had righted himself and picked up his rucksack. She couldn’t say no. No matter how much she wanted to. He knew Alicia too. 

“Fine but stay behind me” She said. “Wait – do you have a weapon?”

Chris nodded and showed her a kitchen knife. It would have to do. She nodded at him and began down the stairs. It was getting dark outside and she hadn’t lied to Alicia when she told her she had no torch or other light source. She felt no fear, however, only determination as she bounded down the steps to street level.

She had to make sure Alicia was safe.  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for you kudos and kind comments, I appreciate every one of you :D I usually hate ending on an odd number but I didn't want to wait to post this one. 
> 
> Edit: So I obviously haven't uploaded the next chapter yet (oops) and so I'm sorry to anyone out there who was waiting for it. I hate that I haven't finished it yet. I think it's probably writers block and I've just been extremely busy lately so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but (hopefully) it won't be longer than a week. Once again I'm sorry about it and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza finds Alicia.

Elyza clutched her gun tightly with her left hand and the railing with her right as she crept down the stairs. Chris was right at her back, she could almost feel his breath on her neck, wanting to move faster. He was clearly impatient to leave but Elyza knew that anything could be at the bottom of those stairs.

She could hear the door being slammed up against the table and the growls of the zombies outside. 

“Can we get to the roof instead?” Elyza whispered to Chris.

“No. There isn’t any way up”

“I can find a way” Elyza whispered and then began to make her way back up the stairs to the apartment. Chris collapsed on the couch with a defeated air. Elyza narrowed her eyes at him, she had no time for an attitude like that.

She searched through all the doors that she could find. She found the (empty) kitchen, the cupboard, a bathroom and two bedrooms. The staircase continuing up had collapsed and there was no way to climb up. There was an escape route out of a window in one of the bedrooms but it only went down. Chris had been right, there were no staircases or ladders leading to the roof. 

Elyza went back to the living room where Chris was staring out of the window with vacant eyes. The window.

Elyza walked to it. The walls were made of brick and there was a ledge below the window and another above it. Elyza could just about see a ladder on the adjacent building. 

“Come on, Chris” Elyza said as she checked to make sure her bag and weapons were secure. She walked over and opened the window. Down on the street the walkers had returned, the stench made worse by the damp after-rain air, groaning and shuffling.   
She looked around to try and see Alicia, Merie or Abe but there was no one. 

“What are you doing?” Chris called out just as she swung herself up to balance on the window ledge. The wind buffeted against her back, throwing her against the window with a painful thud. 

“You’re crazy!” Chris shouted. He was standing by the window now, staring up at her as she clung to it from the outside.

“Maybe so, but I have to find my people!” And Alicia. Especially Alicia.

Elyza gritted her teeth. She kept hold of the window sill with her right hand as she slid down the wall to the ledge below. The walkers were groaning. Her arm was stretched to its limits. She still hadn’t reached the ledge. 

She released her hold. A second, one that felt like an eternity, later her feet landed on the ledge.

Only when her feet were secure did she let go of her breath. The ledge was only wide enough to fit one foot across and the walls only had the tiniest of gaps in the brick to place her hands. The wind kept pushing her into the wall, hopefully, holding her in place as she shuffled along. She moved her front foot forward. Then her back. She was doing okay for two shuffles until she slipped on the condensation from the rain. 

Reaching up with her arm she grasped one of the grooves. Her fingernails chipping, her fingertips clinging, she managed to hang on until she got her foot placed safely again.

“Elyza, you won’t make it!” Chris called out unhelpfully. 

“I will” she said. She kept shuffling, ignoring the shuffling far below, kept moving towards the corner of the building. When she had reached the neighbouring window, the bedroom window, glass shattered far below her. She hoped that it was one of her friends doing the shattering and not a walker.

“Elyza?” Chris called out to her.

“I’m good!” she yelled and continued her shuffling along the ledge. Her foot slipped again and there was no groove to place her fingers. 

“Spoke too soon” she whispered to herself. She felt her balance failing her and so, at the last second, she pushed off with her one secure foot to jump up towards the window sill. She grabbed it and was left hanging. 

Breathe in. Out. 

Elyza moved her hand along the sill until she ran out. Moment of truth. She dropped down once again.

Her feet landed securely.

She shuffled further along until she reached the corner of the building. The wind had died down slightly earlier but now it pushed her into the corner, her ribs smashing into the sharp edge. She bit her tongue to stop from crying out and looked over at the ladder on the other building. The other building was also made out of brick and the spindly ladder creaked in the wind. It looked fragile but it did reach the roof. And was close enough to leap to. Probably.

“Chris! I’m jumping to the next building!” Elyza shouted out to him. She didn’t know if he had heard her. 

Elyza turned around on the ledge so that she was almost being launched off by her bag. When the next gust of wind came, she would jump.

She felt the slight breeze tickling her cheek. She pushed off.

She landed squarely onto the ladder. It swung precariously, but didn’t fall. 

“Alicia was right; I am a badass” she smirked to herself as she clambered up the ladder. She made it to the top and pulled herself up onto the roof. She stood up and took a moment to congratulate herself before looking back down at the street. The walkers were mostly gone now, meaning whoever they were hunting was now in safety (or dead). That meant her people were safe. She couldn’t see them but it did bring a smile to her face. 

She was still grinning when she gauged that she could make the jump to her original building and did it. She raced across the roof and looked down at the alley that she had come in from. 

“Chris?” she called out, 

“…Elyza? Elyza!” a very recognizable, but muffled, female voice called back. Next thing she saw was Alicia running out of the same door she had entered the building from. Elyza grinned so hard her cheeks hurt. She looked a little bruised, a little scraped, but whole and safe.

“Alicia! I am so glad to see you!” she called out and could see Alicia’s blinding smile from where she was. The draw to her was strong. All she wanted to do was to hold her in her arms and make sure that she was alright. 

The alley was very far below. Alicia looked very small, Elyza’s blade in her hand even smaller. Elyza could make it down. Alicia was down there, so there was nothing powerful enough to stop her from getting to her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza rejoins the group.

Elyza managed to make her way down to Alicia by climbing over the windowsills on the building. She kept calling out for her to be careful and Elyza tossed back some flippant comments that she though made her appear daring and brave. And not at all nervous. 

When she finally reached her Alicia hugged her tighter than she had ever been hugged before. Elyza had floundered a moment before hugging her back just as tightly.

“I thought – I was so worried” Alicia whispered,

“Me too, me too” Elyza whispered back. 

They separated when the door opened behind them. Elyza took a moment to memorize the green of Alicia’s eyes before walking through the door. There was a lantern resting on a coffee table casting a dim light over the room. It was a lot bigger than she had originally thought and looked like a sort of lobby with various lavish tables and chairs strewn around. Abe pushed a heavy desk over the door once they were in before going and sitting beside Merie. She was lying on a couch with her leg up. Her bloodied leg.

“Merie?” Elyza said and walked over. She knelt beside her and held her gaze, asking her the question silently.

“I wasn’t bit. I was tripped and landed badly” Merie said in a strangled voice. Her leg looked all torn up and swollen. She clearly did more than ‘landed badly’. She was tough, she was raised to be, and Elyza could tell she was hiding her pain. It only increased the need to get back to the tower. 

“I did the best I could but she’ll need the medical supplies… and preferably someone with medical knowledge” Abe told Elyza. He was holding Merie’s hand gently, like it was made of porcelain. Normally Merie wouldn’t appreciate that kind of treatment but she seemed in too rough shape to even notice.

“My mother was a nurse… kinda” Chris suddenly spoke up. He had been standing in the shadows with Alicia nearby. He stepped forward.

“Do you know anything medical?” Abe asked him and, after a moment, Chris shook his head. Elyza wanted to scream at him, why mention it if it wasn’t useful, but then she saw the downcast look on Alicia’s face and dampened down the emotions. If only she had listened to her father when he had been talking about his work, then maybe she could help. He had worked as a surgeon and her mother as a mechanic. She had never really picked up enough of either of their knowledge to be useful. 

“Well… my father was a surgeon. Your mother was a nurse and Abe’s friend a doctor. Combined we should know something useful” Elyza said. “For now though, we need to get back. We can’t stay here, especially with an injury”

“Yeah ok… but where do we go?” Chris asked,

“Polis” Alicia said with a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

Elyza smiled gently at Alicia, enjoying the sparkle in her eye and the flush to her cheeks. Chris looked between them with confusion written on his face. He opened his mouth to say something when Merie spoke up.

“We can’t go right now. We have to wait for the walkers to leave” she said. Elyza decided not to tell her that they were already gone and that they should leave before it got too dark. Instead she brushed her hair off of her clammy forehead. She was relieved when there was no sign of the fever. 

“Ok… Ok M” Elyza whispered. They had had a rocky past but they had always supported one another. Not to mention that her and Raegyn were impossibly close and Elyza didn’t really want Raegyn to come after her. 

“Shouldn’t we go now? While it’s light?” Alicia asked from where she was leaning against the wall. Elyza looked at her and shook her head the tiniest bit – just so that she could see.

“It’ll still be light in a little while. We need to wait and let the walkers leave” Elyza said, switching her gaze between Alicia and Chris. Mostly Alicia. Eventually she nodded. 

“Well, while we’re waiting maybe I should get some rest” Merie said. Suddenly gripped by fear, Abe objected, clenching her hand tightly in his own. 

“That’s not the best idea” Elyza said slowly. “Let’s look at your leg first, ok?” 

Elyza shifted down so that she could see her leg. Abe had already wrapped some clean rags around the wound but blood was already seeping through. Elyza untied them to retie them tighter. Pressure, her dad had always spoken about pressure. She tied them as tight as she could and just hoped that it would be enough.

“I had some disinfectant in my bag. I put some on it” Abe told her

“Yeah and it stung like hell” 

Elyza smiled wanly up at Merie. She held her wound tightly in her hand, applying more pressure for the rags had already begun to loosen.

She looked around at the four others gathered there. On the trip back she wouldn’t have much help. Abe would be too preoccupied taking care of Merie, Chris wouldn’t be much help and Alicia only had minimal experience. Elyza’s heart thumped.

The trip back wouldn’t be easy in the light; she couldn’t even imagine what could happen in the dark.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make the journey back.

They set out well after the sun had set. It had been an hour and Merie was clearly not ready but she was getting worse, not better, so they had to leave. Now. 

Abe was carrying Merie, and both of them were holding a gun. Alicia had to take Merie’s bag because while Abe was strong he couldn’t take both bags, Merie and still be able to defend them. Alicia hadn’t wanted to take a gun so she was holding Elyza’s long blade again. Chris had Merie’s spare gun. It was a really tiny gun that fit perfectly in Merie’s boot and, surprisingly, suited him. Elyza wasn’t comfortable with him having a gun but he had to have some form of protection.

Elyza set out at the front of the group. As much as she wanted Alicia beside her she wanted her to keep an eye on Chris so they were both at the rear of the group. Merie and Abe were in the middle of them, the set up was designed to protect Merie as much as possible. 

They made it a halfway with only meeting the occasional walker that Elyza had easily disposed of when things began to go wrong. A gunshot had gone off from behind followed by Alicia’s scream. 

“Walkers!” Alicia screamed and from the panic, Elyza doubted she was talking about one or two. And if it had been one or two they were all going to come now from the gunshot.

“Get Merie somewhere safe!” Elyza shouted at Abe before running to help the others. 

There were five of them. Only five. It would have been fine. If only Chris hadn’t shot.

“Chris! Stop shooting for fucks sake!” Elyza shouted at him. He didn’t seem to hear her and kept letting off bullets. Elyza wrestled the gun out of his hand, a final bullet whizzing narrowly past Alicia’s shoulder, and punched him in the face.

Chris stumbled back into Alicia and they both fell to the ground. Elyza wanted to help them, she really did, but there were three walkers left coming for her and she could hear many more on the way. Figuring the damage was already done, she easily shot the last three and pocketed the gun. 

“We need to go. Now” Elyza said as she moved over to the Alicia and Chris. Alicia was holding her shoulder. Elyza checked to see that it was only a shallow, but painful graze. 

“Why can’t we fight through them?” Chris asked as Alicia and Elyza were walking away.

“There are three of us and, no offence, only one of us is in fighting position. Don’t be an idiot and let’s go” 

She ran after Alicia to a rickety ladder attached to an old brick building. It looked rusty and not at all sturdy but it was nearest thing. Alicia had just jumped up onto the first rung when Elyza realized that Chris wasn’t behind them. She turned and saw him in an incorrect fighting stance facing the walkers. A scowl was on his quickly-bruising face and he had no weapons.

Elyza swore and ran back to him. 

He clearly wasn’t going to back down easily. 

“You’re not dying here!” she shouted at him, the sound of the walkers increasing.

“Why not?” he replied at the same time that Alicia called out a warning.

“Do you want me to die?” she asked and stared him right in the eye. He blanched and shook his head, “Because that’s what’s going to happen when I don’t leave you here. If you stay, I stay and we may last a minute or two but there are too many”

That got Chris’s attention. Elyza let out a deep breath when he nodded and followed her to the ladder. It had been a risky gamble but she had enough faith in him not to let her die, at least for now. 

Alicia began climbing up again once Chris had pulled up behind her. Elyza had to shoot a few more walkers to buy them enough time. She looked up and saw the ladder begin to crack. Alicia noticed and clambered in an open window. Chris followed her and there were no resulting screams so Elyza gambled that it was safe. 

She climbed up into the same window and looked around at the office building. They were in almost the exact same situation as before, only now it was dark and Merie was injured.

“Come on, we can’t stay here” Elyza said and led the way around the desolate place until she reached a stairwell. She led the way down to the ground level again and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Abe and Merie in the lobby.

“She’s getting worse” Abe said to her without turning.

“Then let’s get a move on” 

“But – the walkers” Alicia said. She was right, there were too many of them, and they didn’t have time to wait. She spun around to look for something, anything, that she could use. After sifting through a pile of broken chairs she found a long wooden plank that looked like it was originally from a bookshelf.

“Abe, this look strong enough?” she asked him and when he nodded she grinned. 

“What -”

“Right, ok, I’ll take Merie. Chris, you take my backpack” Elyza told them as she took it off her back and dropped it into Chris’s outstretched arms. Abe picked up the plank and Elyza took Merie onto her back, piggy back style. 

“Elyza?” Alicia asked her. Elyza walked over to her and grinned. They were nose to nose. She could see the dark circles beneath her eyes start to appear, the tiniest flecks of dirt marring her skin, the flecks of colour in her eye. 

“Oh stop, you’re in the middle of an apocalypse for Christ’s sake” Merie grumbled into Elyza’s shoulder. It only made her grin wider.

“Be brave, my dear” she said to Alicia before pecking her on the cheek and turning to follow Abe out the door. It was colder outside but brighter from the light of the moon. It was much, much louder with all the walkers no longer muffled. 

Luckily Merie was light to carry as they all scurried around the building to reach the next. They followed Abe’s lead as he tried to find a sturdy ladder. It took three buildings and several close calls until he found one. Elyza ushered Alicia up first, followed by Chris. Elyza and Abe were shooting at the walkers when he insisted that she go up first.

When she faltered, eying the heavy plank, he glanced meaningfully at Merie. So, Elyza clambered up the ladder. Merie tightened her grip around her neck so that it was hard to breathe and she huddled close to the wall. It was only after she had made it halfway and she heard Abe begin to climb below her that she somewhat relaxed. 

They made it to the roof and they were now only a handful of blocks away from the tower. Elyza felt a pang of pride when she saw how tall and secure it looked. She looked over to see the same look in Alicia’s eyes as she told Chris that that was where they were headed. 

“Let’s go, people!” Abe shouted out as he dropped the plank so that it spanned the gap to the next building. 

“Think it’s secure?” she asked. He shrugged, tested his weight on it and then nodded. 

“I’ll go to the other side to act as an anchor” he said

“Be careful, babe” Merie’s voice croaked from Elyza’s shoulder. Thankfully she seemed to have stabilised.

Abe kissed Merie’s head before beginning to cross to the other side. He made it quickly. Elyza sent Chris next. Alicia stood next to her, close enough so that their arm hair tickled each other, until he made it to the other side.

“Clever” she whispered into Elyza’s ear with a smirk. “You two should go before me, you need to be anchored more than me” 

As much as Elyza wanted to argue, to send Alicia first, she couldn’t. Not with Merie on her back. So she just nodded and walked across. 

The plank was narrow but wide enough for her to step comfortably. She swayed precariously, especially in the middle, due to added weight but eventually stepped onto the other side. Alicia went after them. Elyza’s stomach was in knots the entire time. Alicia’s foot slipped once but she managed to reach the other side. 

They continued the routine until they couldn’t anymore. The moon was past its peak by the time they climbed down the last building to the wider streets. Abe took back Merie and Elyza her backpack. They made it back to the tower with no more hiccups. Alicia hummed softly in Elyza’s ear as they climbed up the narrow stairs to the top of the tower. 

The moon and sun were just beginning to switch places when they walked out onto the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has left comments or kudos!!
> 
> This will be the last update for a while because of exams and things. In fact, I might rewrite these last two chapters when it's all over as I know they weren't my best writing (sorry).


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia is reunited with her family.

Alicia was breathing heavily when they walked out onto the roof of Polis. Two boys were huddled together on the other side of the fire laughing softly together with a third sleeping with his back to the group.

“Minty?” Elyza addressed the two boys and the Asian one leapt into the air before standing and facing them.

“El-Elyza!” 

“Sorry for the interruption” Elyza said with a smile tugging the corner of her mouth. As she spoke Abe carried Merie over to the sheltered area. She kicked at the sleeping boys legs and he two leapt to his feet. Alicia noticed that the third boy had managed to creep behind them and was making his way down the stairs. 

His stealth unnerved Alicia. 

“Raegyn’s downstairs” the boy named Minty said,

“Caspar can you go get her? Or are you too busy sleeping?” Elyza said in a harsh leadership tone that made it clear why she was the leader of this group. The boy grumbled and made his way to the stairs, walking in between Chris and Alicia. His face was drawn and his hair overgrown. Everything about him screamed apocalypse. 

“Downstairs?” Elyza asked

“Yeah- Oh right. We found their people” Minty said nonchalantly as though the revelation didn’t make Alicia’s world spin upside down. 

Her family. They had found them.

“Where are they?” Alicia croaked

“Downstairs” Minty said with a shrug. She turned to run down the stairs only to come face to face with her mom.  
*

Elyza only saw Alicia’s tearful reunion with her family for a second before Raegyn came running over with Abe's doctor friend, Michael, to help Merie. Minty subtly stood at the railing to watch the outsiders, Caspar being less subtle standing in front of the stairs with his arms crossed like the skinniest bouncer ever.

“This looks – well” Michael said after he unwrapped Merie’s leg. Elyza swallowed. With Abe and Raegyn there he was never going to say how bad it really was.

“What can we do?” Elyza asked. Raegyn was clenching the toolbox-turned-medkit so that her knuckles were sticking out clearly as she stood on the other side of Merie with Abe. 

“Got any sedative?” he asked

“No” Raegyn said but pulled out some painkillers, “This is the best we’ve got”

The painkillers were about a handful of white pills inside a clear plastic baggie. Michael nodded at Raegyn to give one to Merie so she got about three of them. 

“We’re going to have to cut away some of the flesh since it’s infected. Then we’ll dose her with the strongest antibiotics we’ve got, wrap it up and hope for the best” 

Merie’s face was contorted in discomfort over the plan but she just stuck a cloth between her teeth and nodded. Elyza crouched down next to Michael with a bucket of clean water and their last bandages, ready to help.  
*

Alicia was sitting next to the fire with her mother and Travis. Both of them looked bruised and battered but overall intact. 

“Ofelia and Nick are still sleeping” Travis said. 

Alicia nodded, wringing her hands in her lap. Having the two of them up here, where she had taught Elyza the stars just last night, was disorienting. It was like she was a little kid again, having played at a friend’s house and now her parents were here to pick her up and she didn't have enough time to say goodbye.

“So what happened?” Alicia asked,

“Well –” Alicia’s mother’s words were cut off by a muffled scream coming from the covered area. Alicia spun to see what was happening but could only see people’s backs including Elyza’s.

“What are they doing?” Travis startled. Minty came over and handed Madison a large jug of water.

“Helping Merie, she’s injured” and with that Minty walked away and spoke to Caspar who was still standing at the stairs. Having him standing there, watching them, made her feel like she was a prisoner for the first time. She glanced over at Elyza’s bowed head. 

She listened to Travis and her mother as they swapped turns telling her what had happened. The gist of it was that Nick and her mom had found shelter shortly after Alicia had left after climbing over a fence that the walkers couldn’t. They had been trying to get back to the boat and find Alicia when Travis and Ofelia found them and they holed up in a building not far from Polis for the night which was where Elyza’s people found them the next day. 

As for Travis, Ofelia had tried to be stealthy but Daniel had noticed her quickly. Ofelia had begun shouting at him which drew the walker’s attention. They all fought to get out of the crowd but only Travis and Ofelia did. Travis had had to drag Ofelia away to safety. They still held out hope that Daniel had managed to get away and was now surviving somewhere in the city but couldn't risk searching.

When they had finished telling their stories and asked Alicia about hers she hesitated. They obviously didn’t trust Elyza’s crew and had good reason not to. For some reason she didn’t want to tell them the truth, she didn’t want them to dissuade her of her experience with Elyza.

She was saved from having to tell them by Elyza herself.

“Hi there, I’m Elyza Lex” Elyza said as she walked up to them. She stuck out her hand for shaking but when it was clear neither Travis nor Alicia’s mother was going to stand she withdrew it and sat across from them.

“How long are you planning on keeping us here?” Travis asked Elyza, “We’ve been here since last night”

“Did you sleep well?” Elyza asked them. She took out a knife and begun spinning it against her finger. Despite it being razor sharp it didn’t seem to break her skin. When Elyza raised her eyes they looked fierce and like she could rule the world. 

“We didn’t feel very safe” Alicia’s mother spat at Elyza. 

“I was told that you declined sleeping up on the roof and that two of my men graciously guarded the stairwell for walkers” Elyza stuck the knife into a piece of wood sat outside the fire. The blade sunk in halfway and the handle quivered when she let go. She had made the move look elegant but threatening.

“You aren’t prisoners here, none of you” Elyza said and glanced at Alicia for the first time. Through the night the warpaint had gotten smudged but it made it gleam all the more menacingly in the early morning light.

“Really? So are we free to leave?” Travis asked with narrowed eyes and crossed arms

“Of course,” Elyza said, “I’d prefer to organise something so that travel is a bit safer for you as your boat is overrun with walkers but we won’t stop you from just walking out” 

“It’s true –” Alicia said when her mom and Travis looked at her “I went there today and had to fight off walkers”

A moment passed when the three of them looked between each other, Elyza’s eyes fixed on the dying fire, until Travis spoke.  
“Just to be clear, what exactly could you organise for us?”

“I’d have to speak with our mechanic but I’m fairly sure we have a spare vehicle” Elyza said, taking the knife out of the wood, swiping it clean, and putting it away. 

The gobsmacked looks on Alicia, her mother and Travis were enough for Elyza to know that they had a truce for now.  
*

About an hour later they had come up with an agreement. Raegyn had shared news of finding a large trailer that they could attach to one of the cars so they only needed to keep one. Merie was able to limp around while gripping Abe’s arm, her teeth clenched in pain. Caspar had retreated back into the shadows to sulk.

Chris and the other girl – Ofelia – had woken up and were already settled into the jeep with Alicia’s brother. Elyza stood next to the jeep along with several of her people who came down to keep watch. Alicia was standing next to the jeep scuffing her shoe against the ground.

“You could always stay” Elyza said softly to her. 

Raegyn was busy talking to everyone else in her group so no one was paying attention to them as Elyza rested her hand on the small of Alicia’s back. Her hand was barely touching it, she was scared that too much would make her flee, but instead she leaned back into the touch and looked into Elyza’s eyes.

“I can’t, you know that” Alicia’s voice was tinged with sadness but there was really no choice. Staying with the delinquents would not be good for Alicia no matter how much Elyza would like it.

“Well, I,” Elyza closed her mouth, lost for words. There was so much she wanted to say, they had had such a short amount of time together and it just didn’t feel like enough. Alicia felt like someone she needed in her life, like another limb. 

Alicia turned towards Elyza and pressed her lips to her own in a soft and gentle kiss. Elyza’s head spun and her heart stopped. Alicia tasted of dirt and sweat and of a dusty pink colour. When the kiss didn’t end Elyza’s hand clutched her shirt, her other hand cupping her jaw. Alicia’s hands clutched Elyza’s hair. The kiss didn’t have a chance to get more passionate as the engine of the jeep suddenly revved.

Alicia jumped away from Elyza, her face red. Elyza smirked and grazed her lips against her cheek as she moved away. Elyza dropped her eyes to the ground, finding it unbearable to watch Alicia as the car drove off. She could feel her hands in her hair, her lips on her own. She was holding the memory of every line of her face dear to her heart. 

When the sounds of the jeep grew distant she lifted her eyes and stared after it as it drove around the corner and away from her.   
*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this and for all of the kudos and comments I really appreciate it.
> 
> I'm sorry that this chapter isn't the best and that it's been such a long time since the last one. Thanks for being patient with me.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raegyn tells Elyza about the radios.

Elyza was sitting on the edge of the roof when Raegyn found her.

“I'll need to reinforce that if you’re going to keep putting pressure on it” Raegyn said by way of greeting. Elyza had her legs dangling over the edge and her hands pulling on the railing that she and Alicia had stood by that night.

“Seems secure to me” Elyza responded but her voice sounded empty. Raegyn sighed and sat down next to her, her prosthetic leg groaning and clicking but eventually getting to where she wanted it.

Raegyn began prattling on about what the others were doing but it was clear neither her nor Elyza were paying much attention to her words. Elyza was staring out over the city and Raegyn followed her line of vision to the boat. It had begun to sink and Raegyn estimated that it wouldn’t get submerged but would get lodged into the sludge at the bottom of the bay soon if not already.

The look on Elyza’s face looked a lot like it had just before she had left their crew back in the ruined city. She looked lost and like she had lost. Her eyes were just overwhelmingly sad.

“Hey um” Raegyn hesitated. The sun was beginning to slope down towards the horizon and would begin to set soon. Elyza turned to look at Raegyn. 

“Did it feel like this for you? With Quinn?” 

“When he cheated or when he became a mass murderer?” Raegyn said, bristled at the memory. Quinn had been her childhood best friend-turned boyfriend who had been having affairs behind her back. She only found out about it when he had come onto Elyza a few days after meeting her. A few weeks later he began killing people. She didn’t like to think about it too much.

“I don’t know” Elyza sighed.

“This isn't the same as Cos or anyone back from before” 

“I know,” another sigh, "I just, don't feel like talking about it"

Cos, or Cosette, had been Elyza’s first love back in Australia. Elyza had told Raegyn about how she had gotten kidnapped and killed by a gang from a city over. They had sent back her body parts to her family one by one until the police had found them. It was why Elyza's heart was normally securely locked up but somehow Alicia had managed to capture it.

“Well you haven’t really lost Alicia” Raegyn said earning a glare from Elyza. “There are radios in the cars, I tested them out before I let them have it. I was going to take it out but I figured you could find a use for it”

Elyza looked shocked and was opening her mouth to say something when Raegyn kissed her forehead and began the laborious process of standing up.

“Don’t mention it. Just do me a favour and find some happiness in this shitshow of a world”  
*

Alicia was curled up in the front seat of the car keeping watch. Chris was sleeping in the backseat, Ofelia in the trunk with the supplies and everyone else outside under the nearby shelter. She was supposed to wake Nick to keep watch in five minutes but she didn’t think that was going to happen. 

The world seemed so empty and foreign out in the large empty parking lot that they were in, especially with her phone battery dead. It was bordered by fences and large, solid looking buildings which was why they chose to stay there the night. They had no direction but Alicia suspected that they were trying to leave the country in hopes that whatever was making the walkers was contained. It didn’t seem likely. 

Alicia jumped as something in the dashboard crackled. She opened the glovebox and a small radio fell into her lap. 

“Hey babe, you miss me?” Elyza’s voice was tinny through the radio and it kept fizzing with the struggle of holding the signal. They had travelled pretty far from Polis. 

“Elyza!” Alicia gasped, clenching her fingers around the radio as she pulled her feet back up onto her chair. She smiled into her shoulder as she listened to Elyza speak.

“So how’s it going?”  
*

“Oh you know, running from walkers, the usual” Alicia’s voice transmitted through the radio. Her voice sounded distorted but it was definitely her.

“Things have been pretty quiet around here since you left” Elyza responded. She immediately bit her hand, ashamed at showing vulnerability. She wanted to be clever and charming, not scaring her away.

“Yeah things aren’t as interesting here as in Polis” Alicia said a few moments later. 

Elyza relaxed back onto the hard metal. She was lying in the back of the trailer Raegyn had hooked up to the other jeep, staring up at the stars and remembering the constellations Alicia had showed her.

“Elyza… do you believe in soulmates? B-because I feel like you are so familiar to me, that we knew each other before, somewhere, you know?” 

“Yeah I do. I didn’t believe in soulmates, not really, until I met you”

Alicia was silent for a moment and when she came back she sounded choked up. Elyza wished that she could hold her in her arms.

“And I think that we will meet again” Alicia whispered, “If not in this lifetime the next”

“I’m not giving up hope on this lifetime” Elyza whispered back, “Just promise me that next time it won’t be in an apocalypse” 

“Oh I don’t know” Alicia chuckled “Maybe we should make it our theme, but mix it up next time you know, like maybe nuclear fallout instead of zombies”

“Or maybe one of those sci-fi things when the human race has to leave the planet. I've always wanted to see space”

“Yeah exactly” Alicia paused, “Just next time I call dibs on being the badass one, alright?”

“Oh I don’t know” Elyza smiled “I think you’re plenty badass in this life”

“Well thanks I guess” Alicia was interrupted by a yawn

“You should get some sleep, babe” Elyza said, not really wanting her to but knowing that it was the best thing for her, “Go wake up whoever’s next on watch”

“You know too much about survival techniques” 

“I know plenty of other stuff too. For example the problems of sleep deprivation” Elyza said, smiling at Alicia’s laugh. “Yawning, headaches- “

“Alright I get it!” Alicia laughed,

“Memory problems, moodiness- “

“Ok, I -”Alicia’s voice was cut off by another yawn.

“Get some sleep, babe” Elyza whispered.

“I will. Elyza?”

“Yeah?”

“Promise me that this isn’t the end of us”

“I promise. Goodbye Alicia, until we meet again” 

“May we meet again”  
*

The next morning Elyza tried to get in contact with Alicia again but she was out of range.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this and I hope that you enjoyed it! I really appreciate all of your kudos and comments.
> 
> This is probably going to be the last chapter but I am considering adding an epilogue. Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading !! Please leave me comments and kudos it will make me happy and get me to write more faster. You can also check out my tumblr : booksandotherfunstuff.tumblr.com


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